Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
II. First confrontations
"No man is free who cannot control himself"
- Pythagoras
Dark. Everything was dark around her. Furniture, pots, even the walls were black. Hermione wondered if she would be able to live in such an environment for a year. As her gaze went around the room, spacious enough for them to work together without being too close, Severus watched her, trying to gauge her reaction. He noted that she had changed since her years at Hogwarts. Her features were finer, and she was curvier than before. Her hair, meanwhile, was slightly tamer, but not perfect. Yes, everything about her had improved, but there were still faults.
His eyes went back to her face, and when she met his gaze Severus felt like a teenager again. He quickly regained his thoughts and began to speak.
"We are going to work here this year. I will teach you the art of Potions, the real art, not the sham that they teach you in books." he said in a silky voice, his hand absently stroking a cauldron. "As I have said earlier, I do not expect you to achieve great things, but I'd be pleasantly surprised if it happens. Our first week will be dedicated to simple potions, but which nevertheless require some skill. This will be a sort of...a probationary period."
Hermione nodded.
"I guess that if I fail, I will be..."
"Fired." Severus finished. "Therefore, you will not get your degree I'm afraid, Miss. It goes without saying that I expect from you more than the other Masters expect from their assistants. Think of it as... a compliment" he said, a smirk twisting his lips.
The young woman was torn between terror and contentment. Of course, Severus Snape was still imposing and she was really uncomfortable with him around. But she was also happy to see that he was confident enough, despite his statements, to let her work at his side. She set her bag in a dark corner of the room, and turned to her Master.
"I guess that we start today?"
Severus just crossed his arms across his chest, and turned his head towards a book, which sat on a table to his left, surrounded by multiple vials. Hermione walked over to the book, and took it in her hands. 'Advanced Potions-Making.' She barely suppressed a slight smile on her face, which unfortunately did not go unseen by Snape.
"May I ask what is so funny?" He hissed.
Hermione shook her head and quickly opened the book, turning the pages without even realizing it. Severus approached her, close enough to read over her shoulder, and the girl shuddered. The proximity of her former teacher was still painful, and she was tempted to drop everything and return to her parents. She was not made to work alongside someone like Severus Snape. Despite being 20 years old, she felt like a little girl next to him. When her eyes fell on the recipe of a potion she vaguely knew, her Master's hand rested on her own to keep her from turning the page.
"The Brain Elixir... We are going to do this today." He said, not noticing the embarrassment of the young woman.
"Excuse me, but... I highly believe in the ineffectiveness of this potion, Master."
She turned to Severus to address him, and the look he gave her rooted her to the spot. Once again, she regretted her words.
"Did I ask for your opinion, Ms. Granger? I know your tendency to challenge authority, just like your dear friend Harry Potter, but you have to know that between these walls you are not allowed to give your opinion. Am I clear?"
Hermione nodded quickly, and turned her attention back to the book she held in her hands. Severus remained in front of her for several minutes, watching her, visibly pleased by the reaction of the young woman. He eventually walked away, pointing to a table where there were multiple vials. Hermione took advantage of this brief respite to breathe deeply. The day promised to be more difficult than expected.
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"Come."
She was getting used to the way he worked. She sat back for most of the preparation of the concoction, and participated only when told to do so. She had a lot of trouble to getting used to this rhythm in the beginning but three hours into it she managed somehow.
Hermione walked over to the small cauldron, observing the silver potion. Severus gently turned a ladle inside the cauldron, and Hermione noticed at once that he didn't use his wand.
"I prefer to manually control the speed of the ladle, this is essential for these types of potions." He murmured, answering her unspoken question.
He threw a pinch of lacewing flies into the cauldron, and continued to turn his ladle.
"Why did you seem to think that the brain elixir is not an effective potion, Miss?" His voice was neutral, almost sweet to her ears. Hermione watched him quietly but did not deflect her full attention from the cauldron.
"I...I always thought that it was a stupid potion, just sold to students who were not sure about themselves. I guess that I was wrong."
Severus shook his head and briefly turned his attention from the potion to meet her eyes.
"No, you were right." he began, turning back to the elixir. "Of course, potions sold by charlatans to collect money from weak minds are not true brain elixirs, I'm afraid. You see, the recipe for the elixir that you found in this book is not fully complete. An essential ingredient for making such a potion is missing. I just used it."
Hermione then remembered having seen him use lacewing flies, an ingredient she knew particularly well.
"Lacewing flies." she whispered.
"Right, lacewing flies. You seem to know this ingredient, Miss."
Hermione blushed heavily, thinking about the Polyjuice Potion she had crafted when she was in second year. Now, eight years later, she watched Severus Snape cautiously fill two vials of brain elixir before turning back to her, a slight smile on his face.
"Yes, I know it."
"It is also used in making Polyjuice Potion, isn't it?"
The young woman nodded but did not look away. She was not ashamed of what she had done that day, even if it had proved to be a disaster from her point of view. Nonetheless, Harry and Ron were able to get some information, important enough to understand a little more of the events that were taking place at Hogwarts at the time. Hermione smiled before answering.
"Indeed, Master Snape, lacewing flies are essential in Polyjuice Potion. It also seems to me that your cupboards were full of it during my second year." she replied boldly, without dropping her smile.
She saw Severus Snape's jaw clench, and he approached her with a threatening look. She did not flinch.
"I would deduct more than a hundred points to your House if I could, Miss." he whispered in her ear.
"Unfortunately, I think it is impossible to do so now, Professor."
Hermione didn't recognize herself. Certainly, she had never enjoyed taunting Snape, but she never had the courage to stand up to him in such a way at the time. And now she was playing his game and she liked it. She pulled back slightly, enough to observe the expression of anger which took possession of his face. He seemed to expect her to look down, but Hermione didn't have any intention of doing so. She just stared at him, and when he realized that he was losing his own game, in a fit of rage he swept all the things that were on the table next to him onto the floor. Dozens of vials, fortunately empty, smashed, while ingredients in boxes half-closed spilled everywhere.
Hermione jumped violently and put a hand to her chest. Severus paid no attention to the mess that at his feet and walked to the door.
"It must be clean before I come back, Miss. And absolutelyno magic shall be used." he added treacherously.
The door closed loudly behind him and Hermione found herself alone in the devastated laboratory. Their collaboration was going to be lovely...
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Severus Snape slammed the door to his office in his wake. Why did he accept Miss know-It-All as his apprentice? He didn't know that for his first year a Master who agreed to take someone under his wing couldn't choose their assistants. He was forced to accept Hermione and spend a year with her, who said he had to be happy about it?
Severus slumped in the chair in his office and began to massage his temples. He had lost control a few minutes earlier, and he knew that situation couldn't happen again. He did not want her to suspect something.
Because if Severus Snape had agreed to be next to her for a year, it was for a reason. It was something that he was thinking about since the day he came back and he would finally be able to achieve it thanks to the young woman who was, at the moment, struggling to clean the mess he had made in laboratory. He put his head in his hands and tried to calm down, trying to decide how to show her this facet of his personality did not play in his favor. He did not like to admit it, but...
He needed her.